The central purpose of this NRE/DPN is to stimulate theory development on the role of social support in a variety of stressful contexts. Overall project objectives include: 1. An increase in the number of nursing faculty investigating social support processes related to individual and family response to normative and non-normative stressful life events, with a goal of advancing the sophistication of theory development in this area. 2. An increase in collaborative research between directors of sub-projects within this grant and researchers in related disciplines with similar interests. 3. An increase in the number of grant applications submitted by individuals for extramural support for beginning research endeavors supported through this grant. 4. An increase in opportunities for faculty and doctoral students to work collaboratively on research through the use of doctoral students as research assistants for the sub-projects. 5. Establishment of a monthly meeting schedule to facilitate exchange of ideas and collaboration among project investigators and other faculty interested in research on social support.